Their War Ends
by Grsaw
Summary: Based on Valkyria Chronicles 4, spoilers warning Shortly after the ceasefire of the Second Europan War, squad E returned home and disbanded, leaving Leena and Claude haunted with the loss of their friend Raz. Then a former squad E member came to them, informing them that Raz might have survived the war.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Leena launched her body into the air, soaked in sweat and drenched in tears. She reached her hand out to thin air while her mouth hung open, dried up with words and tears she desperately begged to come out. But none came. Nothing ever came back. Nothing but the harrowing final moment on the bridge when she called out to Raz.

It hadn't even been one month since squad E left the Empire, after the last battle and the announced ceasefire. Riley was discharged from the hospital a week ago and most of squad E had gone home, home to their life before the war. It all happened so fast and so quickly, Leena almost didn't believe it to be true. Last month, they were all tucked and tight with winter gear, holding weapons to their chest as they exhausted themselves to sleep. Now, she laid awoke on a comfy bed, in a one-piece gown so thin it became transparent with sweat whenever her eyes opened.

Raz had been coming back to her, through her dreams. The first few times, she would leap into his embrace, craving that feeling of safety and support he had wrapped her with before. Then the dreams got shorted. She started speaking in her sleep, begging him to stay, to not go, to hate on Claude who had allowed him to die. She dreaded seeing in her sleep that broad back of his, the Darcsen blue hair stuck frozen in the cold bobbling away and vanished into the blizzard. Moments later, his voice would echo, resonate through the static in the radio, and she burst her eyes opened, missing his last words.

Between the dreams came the nightmare. Her brother, the other Kai. Forseti. Standing in front of vault 2A and shouting angered words at them, at her. Blaming them for the war, for its insanity for the decision that she didn't make. But he never blamed her for the only one she did. She shot him. But never in her dreams did he lament her for that. He was always smiling at her when the trigger was pulled. As if he was grateful because she ended his misery. Then she woke up, screaming off the top of her lung, one hand holding her head while the other flicking fingers as if she was holding her old rifle. As if she could shoot him again, for abandoning her. For joining Raz.

And when her eyes dried, she would notice little Angie by her side, trembling as much as she was.

"It's okay, big sis."

Little Angie would say, hugging her tightly and burying her face in Leena's body. And Leena would look at her, bring her in closer and pat on her back. "I'm sorry", she would say. "It's alright", she said. "Everything's fine now".

She wondered how much Angie remembered her brother. And how Angie would react had she learned of who killed her own savior. Would Angie still hug her this tightly and warmly? But she wondered no longer, as she drifted into exhaustion. Spring's warmth had never been so terrifying compared to the winter's embrace.

Sometimes Claude wondered how Riley could be so strong. He wondered had it been Riley who was in command that day, would she be able to save Raz.

Since her discharge, she had come to live with him. To share expense, she said. And she invited Leena and Angie to come live with them. To take care of her, wheelchair-bounded, while he was out working, she said. The truth, he knew, was that she took care of them, those terrible people terribly afraid of being alone. He busied his mind by working, rebuilding the Miller Company that he had promised Riley. But it only added to the guilt because he knew he had started working because of Raz. One more brick cemented, one more blueprint drawn meant one more hour not home and not having to see his beloved in a wheelchair and his best friend's beloved in mourning. No matter what Leena said, Claude could tell she hated him. The strong and quiet Deadeye Kai of squad E now reduced to one anger-overflowing, almost broken Leena, who no longer looked at freshly baked bread. He almost wanted to tell her that he was sorry. But he stopped every time, knowing that his apology changed nothing but only reminded her of the open wound.

Half of those times, he wanted to yell out how he missed Raz too. Raz was his best friend, damned it. Was he not allowed to mourn his loss? Was he not entitled to his pain and suffering? Raz made the choice. He was crying when Raz told him to give the order and kill his best friend. Was he not allowed to be in pain?

Staying late at the factory every night, Claude began to smoke. He was never one to smoke. Riley and Leena didn't like it. He didn't like it. The smoke burned his throat. But it gave him a pretense to use a lighter.

The Federation never kept official records of Operation Cygnus. What was left of it came from the personal recordkeeping of the Centurion crew and squad E members. But even then, when they returned to the Federation territory, they were ordered to give up all of the records, be it diaries, photos, or letters. Only Claude's notebook, titled "It will be done", survived the cleansing. Some of squad E members voluntarily returned to service in exchange for Claude to keep the notebook. A tribute to those who never return, they said. But in the end, that notebook wasn't the only survivor.

While Riley was in the hospital, she spent her days writing a memoir of the operation. She did it to kill time, counting down the hours until she saw Scaredy-Claude always with his notebook on hand again. But as she kept writing, she became more invested, cherishing the moments she had lived with those onboard the Centurion.

After the failed Operation Northern Cross, her squad E was picked up by the Centurion, one of the three cruisers of the Cygnus Fleet aiming for the Empire's capital. They each carried a Valkyrian bomb, capable of wiping clean the capital and any living thing inside the blast radius. They hoped that the Empire would surrender to the Federation after the bombs exploded, and the war would end, as simple as that. Of the three cruisers, only Centurion lived. The Comet sunk while the Cavalier detonated early to avoid capture. In the end, the Centurion didn't detonate its bomb. When it reached the capital, the Empire announced its agreed ceasefire with the Federation. And then squad E went home, back to the Federation. That was it, the entire story of the operation in a few lines. It didn't end there.

Riley dotted the remaining pages with little tidbits and moments she saw onboard the Centurion. She wrote down every cringy joke Stanley made in the mess hall, making everyone groaned. She sketched the veterans of the squad Keigel, Ryan, and Ronald having a drink in the cargo bay, wearing their brightest smiles rarely seen throughout the entire war. She pinned a picture taken from Miles' camera, of Nico and Neige hanging out together, the two youngest squad members, not even legal to buy drinks. Those memories bloomed a smile on her face on rainy days in the hospital and filled pages after pages of her little scrapbook. But across those pages, Riley left one blank. "The Breakthrough". The battle on the edge of the Crystal Sea before the Empire's capital. Where Raz died.

She knew what happened. The Centurion was blocked off by a defending Imperial force. Raz and Jascha volunteered on a strike team to break the blockade. They would be left behind as diversion because the Centurion was already surrounded and had to make a break for the capital. Yet they volunteered, knowing it was a suicide mission. Riley was on the Centurion's bridge that day when it cruised through the blockade. She watched Leena clung onto the bridge's radio, trying in vain to call Raz. And then Raz answered, mocking her for breaking radio silence while gunfire filled the background. It was surreal. It was haunting. To hear him die then as it happened. That page was still blank.

That was why, when Jascha came to visit her one day, she almost didn't believe her eyes.

"Lieutenant Miller." Jascha saluted.

"Impossible. No, this is impossible."

"It is only logical that you think so, lieutenant. But it is possible. Please calm down. I want to talk to you before Leena and Angie return home."

"No….no…."

"Yes, lieutenant. I have survived the mission, and so could have Sergeant Raz."

"Stop it." Riley screamed. The wheelchair shook. Jascha stopped. Tears began to roll down her eyes. But she recollected her breath and wiped her face.

"I'm sorry Jascha, that was rude of me. But how?"

"Understandable, lieutenant, no offense taken. We split up. I stayed behind to hold off enemy reinforcement while the Sergeant pressed on. I could only hold them back for so long before they surrounded me. But instead of executing me, they captured me to interrogate about the Centurion and its mission. I was transferred from prisons to prisons until members of the Blue Rose resistance caught wind of me and broke me out. Lieutenant, I want to be frank. I don't know if Sergeant Raz survived or where he might be. Logically, I shouldn't be here. I don't want to give you false hope. And I cannot risk myself being captured by the Federation, seeing I was declared KIA by them. But when I think about Hanna, if she had to live not knowing what happened to me… I'm sorry, it was illogical of me."

"Jascha." Riley wanted to say something, but her mind was so loaded she couldn't string two words together.

"Lieutenant, please keep yourself together. I come to you because Sergeant Schulen and Captain Wallace wouldn't be logical about this. I'm afraid that they would be either too desperate for a false hope or in denial and dismiss it. Either way, I'm trusting you to do right with this information. I can put you in contact with the Blue Rose. They already started looking for Raz since they knew what happened to me. I can't say that there will be a result. Statistically, there isn't. But it's a start. I will be in Hafen for three days. Let me know what you plan to do before then."

Jascha said and turned away.

"Wait, Jascha, let me say thank you. I know it must be difficult for you to…"

"Don't sweat it, lieutenant. Consider it my little appreciation for your guiding us through the war. Of all the grenadiers, you're always the one we respect the most."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Riley had not fully expected the weight of the choice she made. Jascha deferred the decision to her was logical on his part, because she knew her friends better. She would know if she should tell them about Jascha. No, she would know how she should tell them about Raz could have been alive. But apparently, she did not know them that well.

Neither Leena nor Claude reacted when Riley finished telling them that Jascha survived. Their eyes hid from Riley's gaze, averted from her pleading for a hint of what they were thinking. She did not know what she expected, but not total frozen silence. The silence that reminded her of the long march through the winter to the Crystal Sea.

Leena shook her head a little. Her long black hair let loose and dangled in front of her pale face, fluttered as her head tilted.

Claude curled his fingers into a fist, but his hands looked boneless, laying flat on the table. His knuckles ebbed and tided slightly as he held his breath.

And then the storm came.

"This is insane". Leena shouted and pounded the table with her fist. Riley instinctively grasped Claude's hand as he flinched, knocking over a glass of water. "Don't you say another word." Leena screeched. "Don't give me hope".

"Leena." Riley said.

"No, it is possible. He might have survived. He must have survived. Jascha did. It can be done." Claude meekly uttered. Leena glared at him.

"Then you're insane, Claude. You're as insane as he was. The war is over. What's the point of bringing him up?"

"Because there's a chance. It must be done. I can save him."

"Then go for all you want. I won't go back."

Leena stormed out of the room, leaving behind a stunned Riley. She barely recollected herself when Claude left her side and went for his journal.

"Claude?"

He didn't bother as he sat down with his journal and began going through the pages and scribbling like a mad man.

"Claude?"

He began to murmur to himself, calling names of the old squad members and running his fingers through the pictures and maps.

"Claude!"

"Yes?"

He stopped scribbling and slowly turned his head.

"Are you alright?" Riley asked.

"Yes. I'm fine. Thank you for letting me know. I'll go talk to Jascha and head to the Empire tonight. The border will be closed soon. They won't reopen it until a peace agreement is signed. I'll lose this chance to save him."

"But what about Leena?"

"She'll be fine. In fact, you need to stay with her. Please take care of her until I'm back. I'll bring Raz back. We'll be happy again."

"What do you mean I'll stay? I'll come with you. Claude!"

Never had Riley felt so trapped in her wheelchair as she watched Claude stumbled toward the door, his prized journal left hanging on the table.

Claude boarded the first train heading toward the border between the Federation and the Empire in the middle of the night. The rocking of the trains, the hurried people scurrying back and forth the aisle disturbed his rest, or he told himself. Whenever his eyes closed, the excitement, the possibilities, nostalgia, anticipation, all of them and whatever else he couldn't name surfaced at once and tormented him.

Before he left Hafen, Jascha met him and filled in the information he needed. The Blue Rose resistance smuggled Jascha into the Federation via a cargo ship. Since the Empire still controlled the sea route, the ship made it with pure luck, and understandably would not want to test its luck again. Jascha told him that the resistance would have a contact waiting for him in the city of Ardaha, just south of the Empire's capital, who could assist him in finding Raz.

Getting to Ardaha from within the Empire would be easy. Crossing into the Empire would be the more difficult task. Despite the ceasefire in place, neither sides were willing to give up more than they had lost, and so more negotiation dragged on to decide how peace would look like. In the meantime, the border became the new trenches. Tanks and bunkers aimed at each other across an invisible line, and armies ran drills after drills behind the frontline, anxious and waiting. Besides the obvious threat of skirmishes, border control also prevented spies, defectors, deserters, and immigrants, all sort of people that would risk being shot in the back for a better reason. Claude was now one of them. But at least, he had better odds.

The train arrived in the morning, delivered a fresh batch of recruits, news reporters, and messengers carrying mails to the F-line, supposedly because there was no frontline in peacetime. Amidst this crowd of people battered and disheartened, Claude blended in easily and no one questioned his presence at the military base. He went looking around the base and finally found the people he needed, lounging around in their private quarters.

"Captain Claude in the flesh. What a surprise. Civilian life finally gets bored on you?"

Keigal greeted him. He was sitting on his bed, clanking a bottle to another held by Vancey, whose face remained as red as Claude remembered. She was too busy chugging her prize down to greet Claude back. Claude smiled and joined them at the drinking party.

"I don't suppose you come to check in on us. What do you need captain?" Keigal said as he handed a bottle to Claude. He shook his head slightly and said.

"I need to cross the border. Raz might still be alive."

"Whaa~aa. That's amazing. How did you know?" Vancey said.

"Jascha survived. He came to us in Hafen."

"That fellow lived? Talk about chances. What did he tell you?" Keigal said.

"The Empire X-0 contingent might still be active. They might have captured Raz alive for interrogation. The Blue Rose broke Jascha out, and can help me get to Raz, if he's still alive. But I need to go to Ardaha."

Keigal looked at him and downed his drink before continued.

"That's a lot of odds stacking against you captain. Suicidal even, if you ask me."

"I know my chances. But I will need help crossing the border."

"T~is fine. Crossing is easy. I'll go with you."

"Vancey."

"Boy needs a hand. Look how lonely he is. You should drink more."

Claude scratched his chin and smiled at Vancey.

"Thanks Vancey, but I should go alone. I can't trouble you any further. As Keigal said, this is pretty suicidal."

"A~all the more reason for me to go with you. Two is better than one."

"Perhaps the drunkard is right. You might expect a fight if the X-0 is active. Blue Rose may provide guns, but you need someone as tough as her to shoot it. If that's the case then, I can assemble you a team. Mable's here. Teresa's here, too, but as a combat medic. Let's see who else?" Keigal said.

"No, I shouldn't be…"

"I'm not saying you will force you to join them. But I'll let them know you're here. And they'll decide for themselves if they want to join you. Me though, I'll only help you cross. I'm too old to fight. Sorry captain."

"A~w, old man being sweet. Why can't you be sweet to me and drink half this bottle?"

Vancey dangled the bottle in front of the two, almost smacked it to the bed frame and spilled the liquor. For that night, Claude almost wanted to become Vancey.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Claude spent the next few days on the base, blending in and scouting for a weakness in the line. Thanks to Keigal and Vancey, he had a rough idea of the base's outline and where to start.

Since both armies gathered at the border, both sides agreed to leave a no man's land in the middle and fortified their lines a short distance behind. The Federation's line was a makeshift wooden barricade stretching alongside the no man's land. A grenadier company stationed at the line at all time, rotated out every two days at five in the afternoon. Some platoons of scouts and shock troopers also manned the line, rotated out every eight hours per the usual standard. But that was about the only thing standard. The troops came to post late, maintained their weapons poorly, and talked all the time at the frontline. Despite being the Ranger Corps, fresh recruits and peacetime, albeit with tension, made it hard for them to be serious. Except for the veterans who returned from combats, former squad E included, everyone else talked about this assignment as a hindrance to their lives and went about their mission the same way.

Perhaps thanks to their veterancy, most squad E members got promoted to their current position. Keigal made Sergeant First Class and became a drill instructor for a new batch of lancers. Vancey made Second Lieutenant and led a special-operation squad, mostly for covert operation. Given that any offensive action could trigger war again, her squad was on indefinite standby, and she spent her days looking for people who could drink. Mabel was promoted to Staff Sergeant, but she was eyeing Sergeant First Class like Keigal. Teresa got reassigned as a combat medic as she wished, although peacetime significantly reduced her chance to practice her hobby. They seemed happy with their current positions, so much so Claude felt bad letting them know about his situation. But Keigal let them know anyway. Mabel would only help him cross since she wanted the officer commission. But Teresa said she would join him. With that, Claude began formulating a plan.

He sneaked out of Keigal's quarter every other night, explored the routes and inspected the base's armory. He thought crossing unarmed would help him fool the Empire into thinking he was an immigrant. But then again, he decided to borrow arms from the armory, preferring to stay active in the Empire's territory, and given that the armory guards wouldn't mind. The wooden barricades had a few thin spots that he could hear the wind breezing through. An engineer or a few concentrated shots could make a breakthrough for one person at a time. Claude was also sure that all troops at the line would pay too much attention at the Empire's direction to care about him making a ruckus behind their back. But he was less sure how he could sneak through the no man's land without being shot in the back. He could not go to the line to survey the posts, and none of his friends were assigned there. He wouldn't consider asking more of his squad members who had given him so much already.

As he feared wasting more time stuck at the border, an old face came to him. Minerva came barging in Keigal's quarter when Claude was drinking with Keigal and Vancey. It was unsightly of him, but he was a bit tipsy to care about that.

"Claude, I know it was you."

Minerva's voice almost deafened Claude, but at least it knocked him sober.

"You're here?"

Keigal and Claude responded the same way and Vancey kept drinking without care.

"Yes, I'm here of course. You're looking at Captain Minerva, mind you. But more importantly, I heard from Mabel. You need to stop Claude. This is suicide."

That killed the mood quickly, if her presence alone had not. Claude scratched his chin and smiled awkwardly.

"It can't be that bad. Sure it is dangerous, but I have to try."

"You're not even coherent and you expect to defend your excuse? Turn back Claude. If Raz is still alive, he'll make his way back on his own. He's invincible, is he not?"

The liquor inside Vancey's bottle stopped shaking and Keigal lowered his own.

"You can't expect him to do that alone. He would need help. Be realistic."

"The realistic thing to expect is that he's dead. If he survives, what can you do to help him and not sabotage the entire ceasefire treaty? If you cross the border now, if you don't get shot at first sight, how do you expect to continue on and break him out of whatever prisons they're holding him? What are you thinking even risking Vancey and Teresa? And Mabel and Keigal here to the Federation martial court? You're not just throwing away your life here. You're throwing away your friends' lives and many more if you restart the war."

"No, I'm not." Claude murmured.

"What about Kai? Does she know? Why are you here and she isn't? Are you being delusional and unwilling to move on?"

"No. Kai knows. But she refuses to believe."

"And what of Riley? What of Angie? Do they know? Not that Raz might live that you're about to throw away the peace that you both worked so hard for? That you're about to throw your life away and leave her behind?"

"Shut up! You would do the same if it was Christel!"

He said without thinking, and in an instance, got a slap in the face.

"Something's wrong with you Claude. You're welcome to die alone, but don't drag everyone else with you."

Minerva said and left the quarters. The other two sneaked a glance at Claude and hid their faces behind the half-empty bottles.

* * *

Minerva moved fast. The next morning, Claude noticed double the number of troops on the front line, and extra patrol squads around the perimeter between the quarters and the line. He was running out of time, even before Minerva entered the picture. But the wind called to him the next night, and he made his call. Whether it was fate behind him or pure chance, he rallied everyone to Keigal's quarter anyway.

"Time is running out, so I'll try to make this brief." Claude said as he laid out a sketch of the base on the table and everyone gathered around it. "We're going tonight. It will be cloudy and there won't be moonlight. And if we wait any further, Minerva might establish a curfew on base. We will split into two teams. Teresa will lead the first team to the armory and get all the equipment you need. Pack light because we will be traveling in enemy territory. I will lead a second team to this point here at the barricade and start working on making a hole. We will wait for the first team and then leave for the Empire. However, be careful when you move. If you get spotted by sentries, just abandon the plan and return to your quarters. Be mindful that we cannot open fire. Especially, don't get caught by Minerva. Mabel, I understand that you only thought she would help us. Don't feel too bad about it. And thank you to all of you here."

Claude almost choked on his last words, but Keigal caught him and slapped on his back. The man uttered a hearty laugh and leaded Mabel outside. Then followed Teresa. Then Vancey looked at Claude in the eye. Her lingering almost made Claude questioned himself again, but she just smiled and patted his shoulder before heading out. Left alone, he glanced at the bottle half emptied rolling on Keigal's bed, probably belonged to Vancey.

When he stepped outside, Keigal and Teresa already grouped up while Mabel and Vancey prepared their weapons. To his surprise, Mabel had her hands on a rifle, probably sniper privilege, and was loading non-lethal rounds. Vancey too, loaded up a Reising model with an extra ammo belt. They all looked at him, waiting.

"Squad E, move… Sorry, habit."

Keigal's laugh alone could have woken up everyone.

Claude and Vancey went the opposite direction of Teresa's team while Mabel split off to find a vantage point. Sneaking in a friendly base gave Claude an odd feeling. He felt like a child afraid of being caught doing something bad. No, it was even more intense compared to when he led his squad in combat, when he had a legitimate reason to fight and defend himself. Now, what would he even do if he got caught? But luckily, they made it all the way to the barricade undetected.

"What now?" Vancey asked, staring at the wooden barricade as tall as the Siegval Line's hill.

"Blast it with everything you've got." Claude said. And Vancey began unloading onto the wall. Had they got an engineer, this manual drilling would be done much quicker with much less noise. Claude thought about ragnite explosive or going even more manual with hammers and saws, but since Vancey brought her weapon, he would just go with it. But even then, he second-guessed himself as the wall was still intact when Teresa and Keigal arrived.

"We've got the gears. Medical equipment for me. Brown rifle and extra ammunition for you and Vancey. How are we doing on the wall?" Teresa said.

"Not so well." Claude said.

"Well, I can take this then." Keigal said and readied the lance on his shoulder. Claude gave one look at it and froze.

"Wait, stop, it would alert everyone."

"And Vancey blasting her machine gun wouldn't then? Have a better idea?"

"He doesn't, but I do."

The whole squad turn around and stared at Minerva who intruded upon the scene. She was unarmed, but her menacing look was enough to subdue Claude.

"I won't give up, Minerva." He pleaded.

"I know. And I won't stop you." She said.

Felt like his heart skipped a beat.

"You were right Claude. If it was Christel, I would come for her. Despite all that I say about the risk, if it was up to me… Look Claude. You led us through the war. I want to trust that you can bring Raz back. But more importantly, I want you to bring everyone back alive. Can you give me that?"

Claude hesitated.

"Yes."

"Then Keigal, you'll blow that wall up. Claude, you'll escape to the no man's land and wait there. I will order a refugee convoy into the Empire as a pretense for a manhunt. Then you can enter the Empire hiding in the convoy. That way, I can assign Vancey, Teresa, and Mabel to leave the base officially. Zaiga will be joining you. Keigal?"

"I'm staying. I'm too old for this."

"Then so be it. Take care of the squad, Claude. Do us proud."

Minerva turned around and walk away. Claude stared as she vanished into the dark, until Keigal called him back to reality. Shortly after a loud explosion, the Federation got one man short.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"He was so desperate he acted on a stupid plan." Minerva said.

"And you let him go?" Leena asked.

"Because he was that desperate."

Her words echoed in the dry air, quickly turning a cheerful reunion into a somber deliverance. Riley clutched the arms of her wheelchair, feeling whether the chair or her entire body quivered. She appreciated Leena gripping her should as if to calm her down, only to realize Leena's hand soon joined the rhythm. Overflowing waves of fear, anger, disgust crashed into each other, flooded a little through her eyes.

"So why are you here? Asking for forgiveness?" Leena gritted.

Minerva glanced at them, removed her glass and took her sweet time to wiped it clean.

"If I'm being honest, I let him go partly because I sympathized with him. But I come here because there was another reason why he left. He's a changed man. He has become obsessed with saving Raz. The Claude that we know would do anything to save his friend. But the Claude that has gone see nothing but saving Raz. He was willing to risk sabotage the ceasefire treaty and his friends. So I've come here to see what happened to him and how to fix that. Don't worry, he's in good company for now. I didn't just send him away alone." Minerva said. Perhaps Riley glared at her a bit too long.

"What do you expect to find here?" Leena asked.

"You two, of course. The root cause and the solution, all in the same."

"Are you trying to play us fool?"

"No, I'm just stating my observation. You may not realize it, but the war has changed all of you. Claude isn't an idealist anymore. You're not the cool, calm, collected deadeye Kai anymore. That's why you're here and Claude's halfway across the continent. I can figure what's wrong with Claude. But what's wrong with you Kai?"

Riley unconsciously reached her hand to Leena's, still resting on her shoulder. But Leena left Riley's side.

"Conversation's over."

And Leena left the room. Riley couldn't even turn her head around to look at Leena's leaving.

"I'm sorry I've come bearing bad news." Minerva said. Riley slowly adjusted her wheelchair and faced Minerva.

"No, thank you for coming. I appreciate any bit of information."

"How long until you can walk?"

"Two weeks, if I'm fully rested. But with Angie starting school and Kai not around the house, I have to walk around quite a bit. It's okay though. It's part of rehabilitation. The doctor said to avoid muscle death." Riley added after receiving a pitiful look.

"Why did you let him go? Do you believe that Raz is still alive?" Minerva asked.

"… I do. But he left. Not that I could follow him."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend. But, I really do mean this. You need to go after him. Claude's in a tough spot right now. He needs you. Whether Raz survives won't matter if Claude dies in the end. So here's what I can do. I contacted captain Morgan. He can sail through the Crystal Sea again and land you inside the Empire, wherever Claude might be. But he told me that the ice will melt soon. The Imperial Navy will control the sea lane tighter when that happens. Time's running out."

Riley felt her body sunk further into the wheelchair. Her long blonde hair glued to the back of her shirt, fused into the thin space between the chair and her back.

"You don't have to decide right now. Claude has a decent team with him. Zaiga, Vancey, Mabel, Teresa, all top-notch veterans. What I'm worried about is his state of mind. Here's how you can contact captain Morgan. And here's mine, but I won't be able to help any further. I'm stuck to border patrol now."

"Thank you, Minerva. I'll talk to Kai."

"Don't mention it. I'm sorry I couldn't help more"

Minerva stood up and prepared to leave when Riley called out once more.

"I just want to say thank you, again. And you've changed, too. In a good way." Riley added awkwardly.

"We've all changed. It's just war."

Minerva nodded her head slightly while on her way out as Riley saluted her.

* * *

The convoy was only one truck. Zaiga drove it through the no man's land, flying a white flag and an Imperial flag as a signal to the Empire troops. When the convoy picked up Claude, he was given an outfit to change and forged documents for the border crossing. The crossing was so smooth that Claude almost felt stupid for wasting time at the Federation military base. And the ride north to Ardaha was nothing more than a school field trip. They avoided the cities and any routes that could have checkpoints, fearing coming across an Empire soldier who could have recognized their faces. They ended up taking the scenic route, bypassing the Federation warpath's months ago and visiting countryside villages for resupply instead.

The mood had dampened, for lack of alcohol and other things. Only Claude and Zaiga knew how to drive, surprisingly, so they spent almost all the time at the front seat taking turns driving. All that Claude could hear was the ragnite engine, the wind flapping the tarps covering the back of the truck, and his fingers tapping on whatever surfaces they found. The silence was deafening and heavy. It made him realize he had nothing to do besides thinking, being reminded of troubled times.

The heavy mood wouldn't lift until Zaiga stopped the truck in the middle of the road one evening. Even before the truck's light shone on the makeshift roadblock made by two large trunks, the sounds of explosions and gunshots echoing from afar gave Zaiga the same expression that Claude wore on his face. In that moment of transition from one kind of tension to another, Claude felt guilty for being happy.

"Ambush. Get off the truck. Zaiga take Mabel and push fifty yards back to set up a fallback line. Weapons tight. Go."

Claude got off the truck, leaving the door open for cover and circled to the back of the truck to meet up with the rest. Zaiga and Mabel headed off quickly and Teresa laid on her stomach, aiming her rifle through the gap beneath the truck.

"What are we looking at Claude?" Teresa asked.

"Keep your eyes open. Scan your sectors." Claude said.

"Are we being shot at?" Vancey asked.

Claude looked around and kept his ears perked. The gunshots were sporadic and coming closer, but none of them landed near them.

"Teresa, go check it out."

She nodded and made her way around the truck. Claude tracked her as she dug behind the trunks and looked beyond it. Then she headed back.

"There's a city about two hundred yards up ahead, in flame, and heavy fighting. Gunshots must have come from there."

"What's happening here? Isn't the ceasefire in place?" Claude mumbled to himself. Vancey and Teresa looked at him, equally confused.

"What now?" Teresa asked. Claude stared right back at them. He had a few thoughts in mind, the first of them was getting back on the truck and going around the city. But then it was Ardaha right in front of him, if he still remembered from the map. Loweholm flashed across his mind. The chance to save Raz burnt rapidly as well. He stood up and rallied Zaiga and Mabel on him, then gave the order once they returned.

"We need to get down there and figure out what's going on. We'll hide the truck in the tree line and proceed on foot. Mabel will be overwatch. Vancey with me, Zaiga, Teresa second team. We'll leapfrog forward. Weapons tight. Question? Contact!"

Everyone kept their heads down as bullets started ricocheting off the truck. The sounds of metal met metal rung in his ears, followed by a succession of fire from his own squad. Without looking up, he shouted out orders.

"Spread out. Zaiga, suppressing fire. Mabel fall back and give us a base of fire."

"Ceasefire, ceasefire. Help us."

The shouting began to overwhelm the shooting and by the time Claude's ears stopped ringing, he looked up to see a tattered group of wounded limped toward him. One of them carried a flag with a blue rose.

"Help us." The man seemingly leading the group pleaded.

"Are you the resistance? The Blue Rose?" Claude shouted back.

"Yes. The Empire is coming after us. Help us." The man's voice weakened. Claude looked at his friends.

"Vancey, Zaiga, disarm them and help them on the truck. Everyone else keeps watch."

His caution was unnecessary. Besides their leader, no one else had a weapon. And no one was unhurt. They leaned on each other, arms over shoulders, all covered in blood. Claude watched in silence as his friends helped them onto the back of the truck, listened to their groaning as they laid down on the floor and squirmed in pain.

"Claude."

"Right. Coming."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The truck kept going for hours, following the resistance leader's instruction, until it stopped a makeshift base hidden in a forest. When they arrived, Claude got off the truck and stared dumbfounded at some twenty-plus people ferrying each other on stretches into and out of six tents made of tarps and wooden sticks. There were no securities. Aside from one box contained a few outdated ZM Kar rifles, there were no other indicators that this was a guerrilla camp.

"Claude, give us a hand."

"Right, coming."

Unloading the wounded from the truck took a few minutes. The leader guided the way to the tent where the wounded received treatments. It felt like a job well done to Claude, until he and his friends stepped out of the tent, into the busy crowd.

"A word, if I may?"

The resistance leader stepped up to Claude from behind. Claude looked at the others.

"Claude, should we help them?" Teresa asked. Zaiga broke off the line and joined the crowd, picking up a wounded. Claude looked at him go.

"Yeah, yes. Vancey, stay with the truck."

Claude looked as they went off and followed the leader into the forest.

"Thank you for your help. I'm Jorsen and as of six hours ago, acting leader of this Blue Rose branch. And you are?"

"Claude. What happened last night?"

Jorsen took a moment to look at Claude.

"Cigarettes?" He offered.

"I don't smoke." Claude said.

"But you reek of the smell. I almost mistake you for one of my own. But let's be frank here, Claude. You know who we are. But I don't know who you are. I appreciate what you and your friends did for us but it's hard to proceed otherwise."

Claude looked at him, grabbed a cigarette and pulled out a lighter.

"We're looking for someone. Captured by the Empire. The Blue Rose helped one of us before, someone named Jascha. He told me that the Blue Rose can help." Claude said.

"You're either insane or stupid. Did you cross the border?"

"Yes. It was not as difficult as you may imagine."

Jorsen puffed some smoke and leaned against a tree.

"Sadly, I won't be able to help you much. Our branch didn't involve with saving your friend Jascha. But our sister branch further west might have. I can give you direction, as thanks for last night, but that will be all we can offer. As you see, this is a first aid station only. We don't have spare fuel."

"That won't be necessary. But if you could fill me in what happened last night, that would be great." Claude asked.

"It should be obvious, shouldn't it?" Jorsen laughed bitterly. "The Blue Rose declared a general offensive throughout the Empire. We thought we could take Ardaha or at least destroy their garrison. We didn't even make it past the police. And then we ran into you."

"Why would the Blue Rose launch an offensive? I thought it is a guerrilla group?"

"The ceasefire forces our hands. The Nord Republic counted on the Federation to liberate us from the Empire's control. But I guess everyone's as tired of fighting as the next one. If we don't move now and the ceasefire settles in, we'll lose our home."

Ashes fell to the ground. Claude inhaled a big one and held it in.

"So, when are you heading out?" Jorsen asked.

"I'll see if my friends can do without a rest, but we'll move as soon as possible."

"Shame. Thought I could use some more manpower. You seem to know a lot about the Blue Rose."

"We helped each other once in Lowehelm. Mika. He was my liaison. Do you know him?"

"Never heard of him. Must be one brave soul."

Claude finished his smoke and grinded the butt into the ground. Jorsen's was still burning.

* * *

Some hours later, after the wounded had been tended to and everyone caught a break, Claude rallied his group by the truck and debriefed.

"So that is the situation. We're heading to the Crystal Sea again. I'll take the first shift driving. There's a village two-hour drive from here, we can resupply and camp down there. Questions?" Claude said.

"Why aren't we helping them?" Zaiga asked.

"It's not our fight." Claude said.

"What do you mean it's not our fight? They're fighting for their homeland, taken by the Empire. Didn't we sign up for that? They could use our help."

"This is not our fight, Zaiga. We're not their outfit. We're here for Raz."

"Raz would have stayed and helped them."

"To what end? Until we liberate their country and start another war against the Empire? I'm here to save Raz, not the Nord Republic."

Everyone flinched.

"I'm sorry. You're right." Zaiga said. "I didn't think through."

"Let's pack up and move. If you need rest, sleep on the truck." Claude said. He half turned his back around but then he stopped. No one moved.

"Come on, Claude. Let's think about this a bit. At least we can help them move to their new base first. We have plenty of room in the back of the truck and enough fuel for a round trip." Vancey said.

"And then what? We have some spare ammos and let's give it to them? And maybe help them take out an Imperial garrison just because we have the time to spare?"

"Claude." Teresa murmured.

"Every moment we spend here arguing is every breath less Raz's taking, if he is at all. I'm here for him. I'm not here for anyone else. And I certainly dragged you here across the border to recruit you in someone else's fight."

"Claude." Teresa shouted and gestured everyone quiet. Claude was taken aback but simply followed. Then he realized the entire camp was also silent. Mere seconds later, the shouting from the distance echoed back, becoming clearer and clearer.

"Enemy! Enemy! Assault tanks!"

Before Claude could make clear what the sounding off was, Jorsen already ran toward his group.

"Claude. I'm sorry to impose on you, but would you help?"

Zaiga and Vancey already jumped on the truck and grabbed the rifles and threw them toward Mabel and Teresa. Claude only watched as they moved, too stunned to say anything, until Zaiga locked eyes with him. And he caught his rifle from Zaiga.

"We'll buy you some time." Vancey shouted at Jorsen shouted back "ten minutes" before quickly returned to the medical tents. Then the rest of the squad, all locked and loaded, stared at Claude.

"We're only buying time. Zaiga, get on the truck and find us an exfil point. Teresa take point and OP, get back to the line when you make contact. You two with me." Claude gave the order and everyone moved. When he stepped into the tree line, he glanced back and saw only two Blue Rose members scurrying off the base. He discarded the grim thought and continued running behind Vancey.

"Alright, stop. We're about fifty yards out. Vancey, base of fire here. Mabel, move as you want. Whatever you do, run if you see a tank."

Cloud gave the order and watched as Mabel went off. He glanced at Vancey and then faced forward, waiting for the inevitable. Each second passed marked off a drop of sweat forming and rolling off Claude's cheek. He leaned against a tree and readied his rifle.

Gunshots and truck's engines sounded off before Claude could see Teresa wading through the dense tree line. But she made it. And Claude and Vancey began firing.

"How many are we looking at?" Claude asked between firing.

"Looks like a battalion. I counted six truckloads of scouts at least."

"Tanks?"

"Didn't see any."

"Ok, spread out and pick your shot. Conserve ammo. Teresa shift right. I'll take left."

Perhaps the Imperial soldiers didn't expect a fight that they headed straight into his squad's crossfire. There were screams behind the trees, groans and cries blended in the sounds of gunfight and ragnite burning. Claude and Teresa moving instantly masked their true numbers, combined with Mabel's sniping helped them hold the line for longer than Claude expected. Zaiga joined in the fight as the second Imperial wave advanced. It was simply a miracle that they fought until the Imperial retreated as soon as Claude began to run out of ammo.

"Equipment sound off." He yelled out.

"Two mags left." Vancey yelled.

"I'm dried." Zaiga yelled.

"Me too." Teresa sounded off.

"I have two clips left." Mabel said.

"Fall in. We've done our job. Vancey watch our six. Zaiga take point. We're heading back to the truck."

They moved fast before the sounds of the next wave reached them. Gunshots and shouting hurled at them from their back, but Claude ignored them all, wishing only that the truck was untouched. They moved in tactical line, almost running instead of keeping formation, and soon reached the base. Which was razed. Tents burned to the grounds. Wounded left crawling on the ground. And the two Blue Rose members Claude saw earlier were bleeding, holding hands while waiting for death. And then an Imperial soldier walked by them and unloaded.

As for Claude, when he came to his senses, he was already raising his hands, staring at a tank's muzzle pointing at him.

"Well, well, I certainly didn't expect you here, soulmate."

* * *

It had been a few days since Minerva's visit but Leena hadn't been able to move on from what she said. It wasn't her fault that Claude was dumb and did things on his own. But she couldn't help but thinking about Minerva's words whenever her mind was free and started to wander. She kept herself busy, taking Angie to and from school, spending time with the old town watchers that she knew before she joined the Federation army. There was something about home that reminded her of the burden she carried. Yeah, it was definitely Riley. She was Claude's lover after all.

"Leena, why aren't we going home early? Riley can't use the stove. We have to make dinner." Angie said.

Leena looked at the little girl and said nothing. The sun was setting. The pink and orange skyline whipped a brush across the park, covered everything with its colors. Only Leena appreciated such a painting. The kids in the park were too busy being kids on the seesaws and slides to care about anything else, including their parents calling them to head home. At least Leena bought Angie off with an ice cream cone.

"Do you remember Raz?" Leena asked. Then she looked at Angie who wouldn't answer. The girl kept her face down and looked at the ice cream as if it was her untouched overdue homework.

"It's okay, I'm not crying." Leena tried to force a smile, but it came out dried. Instead, she put her arm over Angie and pulled the little girl in closer. The warmth of the setting sun had never felt so filling.

"I miss him." Angie finally murmured.

"Yeah."

A moment of silence.

"Do you remember anything from the war?" Leena asked.

"I remembered everyone onboard the Centurion. Everyone was nice and gave me lots of candies."

"Do you hate it? The war, I mean."

"Yes…but I get to meet you and everyone."

Angie switched the ice cream cone to the other hand and leaned in closer, buried her face in Leena's embrace. Leena looked down at the girl, chuckled, and stroke the pink curvy hair.

"Finish the ice cream then we'll go home. Riley must be waiting for us." She said.

The evening was still tense as usual, even if Leena and Riley were putting on a feign to hide from Angie. Leena kept herself busy with the housework, doing everything she could find until the house was spotless, Angie tucked in, and Riley's wheelchair oiled and cleaned. When there was nothing else to be done, Leena finally gave in to the dark thoughts. She entered Riley's room late after midnight, half hoping Riley had slept.

"I think it is about time we talk about Raz." Leena mumbled. Riley sat up on her bed and scooched over to make room for Leena.

"I'm listening". Riley said. Leena snuck in beneath the blanket and laid on her side, facing Riley.

Riley's touch was like opening a valve. As she felt Riley's hand patting on her shoulder and sliding through her hair, she cried and hugged her friend. "I'm ready, Riley. I'm ready to go back." Leena murmured between hiccups. "Let's go save them." She cried.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Leena readied the rifle and adjusted the scope. She caressed the wooden stock before sliding a bullet inside the chamber and cocked the bolt. It felt just like old time, even if old time was merely a month ago.

"Looks like you're ready."

Leena lowered the rifle and turned around. Riley stood leaning next to the doorway, her hand resting on Angie's head. She lifted her hands up and Angie, like a pet off the leash, leaped toward Leena and hugged her.

"Is Miles here already?" Leena asked.

"Soon." Riley said.

Leena pulled Angie toward the bed and sat down.

"You be a good girl and study well okay? Big sisters will be back soon. And don't stay up too late. Don't let Miles spoil you too much okay? One ice cream a week only. Did you pack your backpack yet? And your schoolwork? Your teddy bear?"

Angie nodded and kept her face in Leena's embrace while Leena kept patting Angie on her back and telling her things. Leena was so absorbed she didn't notice Riley approaching them and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's time." Riley said. Leena didn't let Angie go until Riley pulled on her shoulder softly. The little girl nudged a little more before gave Leena a kiss on her cheek and ran out of the room.

"You don't pack any clothes?" Riley asked.

"I don't think we have a hotel on a cruise like last time. Did you pack clothes? Why are you still standing? Isn't it hurt?"

"A bit. But don't worry. If I can't stand, I can't go, right?"

Leena smiled bitterly.

"Let's go." She said.

Leena and Riley took a few days on train to go to a naval base on the coast and sweet talked their way into meeting with captain Morgan. Minerva's name didn't give them much. Even their names didn't give them much. It was like squad E's profile got wiped and they weren't even veterans. Riley was getting pissed off until they met with captain Morgan. The captain leaded them into his private office and took extra measures to make sure they wouldn't be eavesdropped. Then he handed them a file.

"Lovely to have you young folks come to see me." He greeted them. "But I don't suppose you come here to see to my health, isn't it Officer Miller, Sergeant Schulen?"

"We're just civilians sir. We're here because Minerva told us…"

"Let's talk somewhere else."

"Sir, what is this?" Leena asked.

"Operation Meteor. The Federation War Council was made aware of the Imperial X-0 element and deemed them potential risk in the future, even in peacetime. We're going in again to destroy the X-0, before they finish negotiating a permanent peace agreement. They brought me back in from retirement because I had sailed the Crystal Sea. And of course, Minerva told me you're both interested in finishing the job."

"Actually, sir…"

"Yes, we're interested in your team, if you still have open slots." Leena nudged Riley's knee as she looked at the captain.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Due to the nature of the operation, I'm not allowed to retrain or recruit new personnel. We have a limited team enough to fill a small icebreaker."

"Icebreaker, sir? You mean like a Centurion?" Riley asked.

"No, of course. Back in the day before war, Edinburgh used to trade with the Nord Republic through the Crystal Sea. We made specialized cargo ship that could break thin ice layer. It's no Centurion, but it will get us where we need to be."

"And where is that, sir?" Leena asked.

"The town islands where we once picked up refugees. The War Council believes the X-0 headquartered there, or at least will give us a lead. Well, any other question?"

Leena looked at Riley.

"No, sir."

"I'll have Andre shown you the armory. Karen will have you filled in the paperwork. We'll sall in two days."

* * *

Riley had been hiding everyone that her legs still ached when she walked. The two days before they sailed were terrible because she had to take up the post as the crew's weapon specialist. The grenadiers would be the only anti-ship defense they had. Things got a little easier once they got onboard, and she spent most of her time below deck in her quarter. The ship was small like one of the civilian cruisers she took to go to United States of Vinland. But it was large enough to house an armory and a crew of thirty. Aside from captain Morgan, Andre, Brian, Louffe, Marie and Sergio were also onboard. Karen took up Sergio's post as the ship surgeon, while Sergio filled in as a lancer. So were other navy members taking up their combat roles except for Marie. Of the thirty crewmembers, only ten were ground troops. Riley feared they would be severely outnumbered.

Because the ship was smaller and carried less weigh, it ran faster than the Centurion. To Riley surprise, they made it pass the cliff where the Centurion picked up squad E in only a few days since they departed Federation base. When they were passing by the cliff, Leena helped her topside just to have a look, and a quick trip down the memory lane. Riley almost felt like a leisure cruise trip, until the captain called her to the deck the next day.

"Yes, captain?"

"Riley, we're going to slow down from now on. I'm going to need you on the radio. This is the latest equipment from Edinburg, the Puzzler. It will receive any radio frequency undetected. But you will need to catch all frequency by turning this knob here. And push this button to start recording. If you have any question, just ask me."

"Yes sir. But, sir, wasn't there a radio operator?"

"Don't worry about taking someone else's job. We're all understaffed." The captain said.

* * *

The first action came a day later at dusk.

"Captain, I just picked up an Imperial signal. A patrol coming into base. Twenty minutes out. Seems like a big base, a lot of chatter." Riley said.

"Marie, tell Sergeant Kai to assemble her squad. We need to capture them alive. Tell Louffe to be on mortar. Good work, Riley."

"Captain, shouldn't I join the fight?"

"No, you should stay here and monitor the situation." The captain said.

That was how Riley learned about the captain putting her on reserve. Sitting in the deck, doing nothing but listening to the voice comm while her friends were out there fighting almost choke her crying. Not once did she say anything at the captain, but she bit her lip in between relaying orders to the squad on the field.

The fight was intense listening in from the outside. It wasn't the first for Riley. She was a grenadier leader, listening from a far and directing artillery fire, pushing buttons without seeing the results. But now, she was just listening. Thirty minutes of fighting lasted an eternity when she was just waiting for it to end. And when it ended, she leapt out of the seat toward the door, forgetting for a second her legs weren't as good as they were.

The squad captured two wounded Imperial soldiers. Riley joined the captain at the sickbay where the prisoners were chained to their sick bed as Karen treated them. One of them was unconscious.

"Federation pig." The other younger looking one hurled as soon as Riley stepped inside the sickbay. In an instant, Leena put a rifle muzzle at his cheek, shutting him up, but unable to wipe the disgusted look in his eyes. Captain Morgan gestured Leena to lower the weapon and pulled a seat next to the soldier.

"You have Fhiraldian accent. Must have travelled a long way to this cold land, haven't we?" The captain said. The soldier's eyes softened.

"I travelled there once. To Fhirald. When I was a young man your age. Got to make friend with a horse named Vilkan. He was a beautiful horse. Didn't run as fast as his peer, but he was a proudful one. Do you know how to ride a horse?"

"Yes." The soldier grunted.

"Do you have a horse?"

"Zahir. A stallion."

"Is he here in the north?"

"She's back home in Fhirald. Just two years old before I went to the army."

"Do you come back often?"

"No. They… the Empire wouldn't let us take a break."

"Ah, I see. Me too. We too actually. We've been sailing for months now, just wanting to go home. What's your name, soldier?"

"Jaegar."

"What a beautiful name. Jaeger, I'm Morgan. These are my people. We're not here to kill you. We're not here to kill anyone. The war is over, okay? We're only looking for our missing friends. They might be staying in some of these islands. Can you tell me where they are? And then we'll let you and your friends back to shore. Safe. Fed. So you can go and see Zahir."

Riley could tell the young soldier was holding back. He burst out crying as soon as the captain finished and everyone in the room watched him in silence. Now that Riley looed at him long enough, he looked as young as Neige and Nico.

"I didn't want to be up here. It's cold up here. They made me." The young fellow stuttered as he cried while captain Morgan pat him on his back. "Some Federation pigs showed up last week and then they made me go to the Crystal Sea. My captain is a turncoat. He treats those pigs like they were old friends. He made me walk the ice. It's so cold out there even though it's spring. I don't want to fight anymore."

The soldier cried and continued, but Riley wasn't listening anymore.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Riley was glad that Leena came to her quarter past midnight. It had been a long day, especially with the action capturing the Imperial squad. There was so much to take in and process, and Riley was glad Leena could help her bounce off thoughts. Until Leena dropped another bomb on her.

"You told the captain about my legs?" Riley asked. Leena only nodded.

"But why?"

"It's safer for you to hang back."

"Right. I come all this way to watch you from behind."

"Don't be like that Riley. It's not just about protecting you and keeping you safe because of your legs. Even if you could walk, I would still prefer if one of us takes that post." Leena said. That was when it hit Riley.

"You don't mean?"

"The captain doesn't seem to know about Claude. Didn't seem like Minerva told him. So that means we're on our own to rescue him. You're in the best position to find Claude right now. Until we see the coastline and get off this ship, tapping into enemy communication is the only way." Leena said.

"Why don't we just tell captain Morgan?"

"Claude is basically a civilian. We're in a covert operation that could restart a war. I don't think captain Morgan can risk that chance. Even if he does, we're on a ship full of people we don't know. We don't know if he alone has the authority to change course. And if it comes down to it, if we run into Claude, I would rather the captain making that decision then under pressure. Not now when he has all the time to consider." Leena said.

Riley couldn't respond to all of that. Leena made sense, but it didn't feel right. For the first time since Claude left, Riley really asked herself where he went.

* * *

Maybe they shouldn't have captured the squad. Since that day, Riley picked up fewer radio transmissions, and whatever she picked up was oddly specific or helpful to map out the icebreaker's route in advance. There was nothing related to Claude, but she had more than enough to pinpoint enemy patrol squads and outposts too small to be what the operation targeted but plenty enough to make it a struggle to pass through them. She felt like being led by the nose and she hated the gut feeling. Captain Morgan even said that he felt like being watched. The success of Operation Cygnus, where three giants swam through the Crystal Sea unseen, seemed to have led the Federation blindly believed a smaller ship would be invisible. Captain Morgan certainly disagreed to no avail. For now, he had said no more raid and no more skirmishes.

Until the next two days when the ship got shelled by Imperial artillery. The first shot landed just beyond the stern but it shook the ship enough Riley fell off her chair.

"This is the captain speaking. We're under attack. All hands on deck. This is not a drill. Riley, stayed on the radio. Deploy Schulen's squad and figure out where the enemy's fire comes from. It's only a rangefinder. The real wave is coming now."

Before Riley could get back on her chair, she heard a "whoosh", followed by armageddon of earthquakes and flames. She reached the radio from below and relayed the order while sitting on the floor then pressed the headphones to her ears as hard as she could. At least that way the deafening artillery would allow some vestige of voices.

"Captain, enemy artillery nest north, northwest of us. But we're surrounded by ground troops. Twenty, no, forty foot-mobiles and tanks. What's your order, captain?" Riley shouted back amidst the raging artillery.

"Captain, what's your order?" She shouted again.

Captain Morgan wasn't looking at her. He stared out at the Crystal Sea, mumbling and showing a look of distress.

"Marie, burn everything. Riley, tell Schulen's squad to hold their position on board the ship and buy us time to burn. They're after the ship."

"Captain?" Riley asked.

"Do it Riley."

She relayed the order, almost shouting at the radio, as she struggled to climb back onto her chair and looked at what the captain was staring at. The enemy fire did not hit the ship, not once, despite the craters on ice grounded the ship to a halt. Continuous fire only made more craters to cover the advancing troops, and none of them fire toward the ship, despite Leena's snipers already doing the work. The captain was right.

"Captain, let me join the fight. If we push them back, they'll give up the ship." Riley said.

"No, you man the radio. Monitor their movement and plan."

"Captain!"

"That's an order, Officer Miller."

It was frustrating. But she knew better to fight the right fight this moment. She pressed the headphones against her ears as if trying to touch her brain with it and started scribbling notes of what she heard. As if writing any harder and faster could help her vent some of the frustration. As if this was her fight. The enemy troops had advanced close enough that from the bridge, she could count how many of them were advancing. Then how many of them were scouts or troopers. Then how many of them fell into the cold water as the rest of them moved forward. Her shipmates began firing like rain, even overwhelming the enemy artillery, making more craters and bodies on the frozen sea. Amidst the fighting, she felt like a child watching raindrops from inside her house. The feeling of being small, helpless, and awed at the wonder of the world overwhelmed her, until Marie shouted on the bridge.

"Everything's secured."

"Helmsman, put the ship in reverse. This is the captain speaking. All hands brace for impact."

"Impact?"

Riley uttered out of surprise. The ship reversed suddenly, flung her out of the chair again. Then before she could stabilize on the floor, the ship made contact and stopped. The impact knocked her around like a ragdoll on a frictionless floor.

"Riley, give me a status report from Schulen."

"Kai, status report."

"There's a giant submersible tank on our stern, just like that X-0 one we fought at the Capital. It blocks our way. Firearms are ineffective against it. We're too close to line up our grenadiers." Leena said through the radio. Captain Morgan walked toward Riley and grabbed the speaker from her hand.

"This is the captain. Capture that tank. It's our only chance out of here." The captain said.

Before the Puzzler gave a message that froze everyone on the bridge.

"This is captain Claude Wallace of the Federation. Federation ship, ceasefire. I know you're listening. Ceasefire. I know you're here for the scientists. Ceasefire. We can do it together."

* * *

When Claude stopped onboard the ship, there were two reactions. Those who didn't know him aimed their weapons at him like they would any other Imperials. Those who knew him aimed their weapons at him the way they would pierce his heart with the muzzles while sitting on top of him, stabbing him repeatedly with whatever they had on hands. Watching Claude walking past his former friends from the bridge, Riley felt surreal. She wouldn't even realize Klaus Walz walking behind Claude, until they entered the bridge.

"Captain Morgan. I'm sorry." Claude said before saluting. He was wearing a civilian outfit and unarmed. Neither was Klaus. The man was smiling faintly, keeping his usual nonchalant composure.

"And my apology to you and the crew, too. I've never had the chance to introduce myself. The last time we met, you were out of commission. Lieutenant Colonel Klaus Walz, at your service."

Klaus extended a hand and the captain shook it.

"Now, I must thank you for not shooting me on sight and agree to this meeting. I must commend your men as well. Being able to inflict that much damage despite captain Claude's magnificent handling, which honestly, I've never witnessed throughout my entire career in the Empire, is just equally magnificent."

Riley noticed the captain's tilting his head a little, wanting to give Riley a look. And then Claude gave her a look, catching onto the captain's gesture, and realized for the first time she was here too. Their eyes met briefly, before Riley incidentally found the floor more charming.

"You must forgive us for our rude welcome. In my hometown, we like to show our strength first as a sign of trust and confidence. I believe we manage this far without hurting your crew shows sufficient ability." Klaus said.

"And in my hometown, we talk. That's how we show our trust and confidence. What do you want?"

"Don't be so harsh captain. Our mutual friend here suggests that we're after the same thing. We both want the X-0. I want them dead. You want them dead. And our friend here wants what they took from him. I suppose you have heard of Federation prisoners captured by the X-0?"

Riley bit her lips so tight it bled.

"I am not aware."

"They're experimenting on live human, behind the Empire's back. For that reason, the Empire has sent me here to eliminate them and shut down the program. To be honest with you, I have run into a fair share of problems locating their main base out here. The Crystal Sea is cruel to those without a ship. Then we come across you."

"You want to commandeer the ship?"

"Initially yes. But captain Claude here proposes something much better. He is the only one that knows both of us, so I trust him to represent me. Captain?"

"We can work together, captain Morgan. Lieutenant Colonel Walz's men can help us storm the X-0 base and we can help them locate it. Per the Empire's order, he will have to execute the scientists. He's not one to do that. He agreed that we can take the scientists back to Edinburgh for trial on crime against humanity as long as he can destroy any records of the program. I believe it is in our best interest to cooperate." Claude said.

"And what am I to count on if he betrays our agreement, aside from your words, captain?"

"I know that I have nothing to show as proof, other than my words and my observations. He keeps Zaiga alive among the Imperial squad since our capture. And he harbors no love for the Empire. He only agrees to this assignment because his loved one is held hostage by the Empire."

"Crymaria?" Riley gasped.

"Yes, my soulmate's beloved. My Crymaria is caged."

The man's nonchalance was wiped clean in a single sentence. He looked at Riley the way Claude would look at her. Not toward a beloved, but an object of sadness and regret.

"What makes you think we can locate the X-0 base?" Captain Morgan said.

"You have a way to listen to the Empire's radio communication. I picked up that much from your capturing the patrol and reacting to the trap." Claude said. "Lieutenant Colonel Walz's squad needed that equipment to locate the X-0 base. He has nothing but ground troops, unable to navigate the Crystal Sea. But I assure you they're more than capable to attack a fortified base."

"And if I refuse?"

"I will convince him to tail your ship. Or die trying to prevent him from sinking it." Claude said. "Captain, I know that I'm no more than the traitor. But please believe me. I only have the best intention for the people I know and care for. I shall submit to yours and the Federation's judgment for working with the enemy. But please. Raz is still alive. He's captured by the X-0. I need to do this. I need to save him."

Captain Morgan didn't say anything for a long while. He looked at Riley once before finally looked at Klaus.

"I agree to cooperate under the condition that you transfer captain Claude and whoever under his command to us. And, as a sign of trust, you will stay onboard the bridge under my supervision to ensure no mutiny."

"We strike an accord."

Klaus extended his hand once again and the Captain Morgan shook it, as he gave his order.

"Marie, bring captain Claude below deck. Lock him up for interrogation."

Riley refused to give Claude even a glance before Marie escorted him outside.

* * *

**Author's note: I will be preoccupied with real life responsibilities for a few weeks so I can only try my best to maintain the regular weekly update. Sorry and thank you for reading and following. **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Captain Morgan and Klaus reached an agreement in mere minutes, but the actual taking on Klaus' company took nearly a day. Per the agreement, Klaus' men would take the cargo bay to rest but surrender their arms to the levels above, under the crew's supervision. There was uneasy tension for the first few hours, until a storm hit and body's warmth became a rare commodity. Any threat of mutiny subsided quickly once the Federation troops saw the lifeless Imperial soldiers hogged each other yet still shivered. And for once, the Imperial soldiers didn't hurl insults at the Federation female troops. Being cared for and fed certainly made them hold their tongues, if not changed their minds. At the end of day two, some younger Imperial troops even dared wandered upper deck and started a festival with singing and dancing. By the time the icebreaker made it out of the storm, the camaraderie remained high to Riley's surprise and relief.

Klaus's company added some one hundred people to the ship, mostly ground troops and some supporting members. More importantly, his company brought in six artillery guns and two tanks, enough to arm the ship and form an armored unit. There was more that could be useful like ammo and trucks, but the ship wasn't large enough to house more. Once the storm cleared, captain Morgan allowed Klaus to conduct some inter-army exercises during daylight, just to make sure the Federation Navy could support the Imperial Army in a siege. That was, if an X-0 base could be found to be sieged.

Even with more men to conduct ground patrols, Riley couldn't seem to pinpoint any sign of life on the ice. The Crystal Sea seemed so vast yet so empty, now that the "other" Imperial Army lived in the icebreaker as well. Imperial intelligence led to dead ends and deserted bases. After the fifth patrol into an empty crevasse that Imperial map designated as a base, Klaus gave up.

"If we are not bounded to uphold our employer, I'll be frank and admit that the Empire is so corrupted we can't even draw maps right." He said after the patrol radioed in their return to the ship. Captain Morgan gave the order to the helmsman before replying.

"To hear a commission officer of the Empire says that, I must admit I'm surprised."

"Honestly, captain, the Empire employed me, but I bear no love for them. At this point, they probably see me no more than a mercenary for hire." Klaus said.

"Mercenary? A lieutenant colonel being seen as a mercenary?" Captain Morgan said.

"The higher you go in the Imperial Armed Forces, the more crowns you have to wear, or more faces you have to flatter. I'm done kissing asses, if you excuse my language, captain. All I'm doing now is outlasting my enlistment and get a pension check."

Riley thought Klaus blushed a little, but she didn't want to give off she was paying attention to the conversation.

"That makes me curious. You see, I'm here because none of my colleagues want to be here. This is a hellhole for careers to go to and die. It makes me question why you are here. Now, I'd admit I know nothing about the Federation, but for a Navy captain to be here, is it an operation of a lifetime, or are you just waiting for pension like I am?" Klaus said.

Marie looked like she was offended which almost made Riley laughed.

"You may not understand this, colonel, but I'm here because of my duty. Rather an old soul like me to spend the rest of my life in the Crystal Sea than a young one." The captain said.

"You're not looking to spend the rest of your life in the army, aren't you?"

"They'll get me out of my retirement anyway."

"You sound bitter. And here I thought, the Federation is all people-loving, soft-hearted bunch that cares for the elderly. No offense, captain."

"Corruption is everywhere, lieutenant colonel. I'd rather the next generation doesn't have to see it."

Klaus chuckled.

"What about captain Claude then? Please excuse my impudence, I don't mean to question your authority. I'm just curious that you'd lock up captain Claude. Seems, out of your character."

"The boy has talents as you have seen. I do not want them wasted on the battlefield is all." The captain said. For once, Riley actually paid attention to working the radio.

* * *

Claude had been a topic among the Federation members. When Klaus' company came on board, everyone was surprised to see Zaiga, Vancey, Mabel, and Teresa as well. Unlike Claude, they got their quarters, had meals in the mess with the rest of the crew, and joined Leena as military police on board, now that they had an actual army to be policed. The crew extracted every possible story out of the four tagged along with Claude and now Riley waited for the crew's verdict on Claude.

"You haven't talked to Claude? He's just two flights of stairs away." Mabel said during a dinner in the mess hall.

"I'm busy on the bridge. Captain's order." Riley said.

"Well, if Marie has the time off to have dinner in the mess hall, I think the Captain can spare you." Teresa said.

"And what's her talking with him helps? He's washed up anyway."

"Zaiga!" Mabel said.

"What? He is. When Minerva told me to cross the border to follow Claude, I thought he was our Claude, capable enough to lead a covert operation behind the enemy line. But he was sloppy and just, didn't seem to know what to do. I know Raz weighs on his mind but I thought it would be his motivation, not slowing him down."

"Raz?" Marie asked. "How's Raz involved?"

"Minerva told me Raz might still be alive, captured by the X-0. Claude led the detail to go find Raz." Zaiga said.

Then Marie gave Riley a death stare.

"Riley, on the bridge, now. Zaiga, go get Leena and tell her to be on the bridge." Marie said.

Five minutes of leaning on the railings later, which passed by too fast in Riley's mind, she went to the bridge. The bridge was empty, except for the captain, Marie, and Leena. Even Klaus was dismissed.

"Captain." Riley murmured.

"Good of you to join us, officer Miller. Please, take a seat."

The silence was uncomfortable.

"Now, officer, sergeant, there is no easy way to do this but the honest way. Did you know about sergeant Raz?" The captain said. Riley looked at Leena before they both nodded their heads.

"And why didn't you tell me?"

"There's not much to say that will help with this operation, sir." Leena said.

"Including the fact that it may change how I proceed with this operation? Or that it may give us a clue to where the X-0 base might be?"

"I'm afraid I don't follow, sir." Leena said.

The captain took his time to stand up and walked over to Leena. He put a hand on her shoulder, and only then did Riley dare sneak a glance at her friend.

"You've carried too much, my child. You needn't have to suffer alone like this." The captain looked away from Leena and Riley followed, leaving Leena some private space.

"Marie, would you kindly escort the sergeant back to her quarter? Then get the helmsman and set a course to Schwartzgrad. I'll explain later. Officer Miller, would you care to join me?" The captain said.

After Marie took Leena off the bridge and the helmsman returned to the wheel, Riley followed the captain toward the lower deck. Riley dreaded every step, not just because her legs hurt, but also because she slowly realized where they were headed. Even after the final steps that took her to the front of Claude's cell, Riley still didn't know what to expect.

"Captain, I brought a guest."

Sitting inside the quarter that held Claude, captain Morgan said. For the first time, Riley got a good look at Claude. Aside from the civilian outfit that Claude took with him on day one, there little about this man in front of her that resembled the Claude she knew. He looked lifeless and jaded, even Ben "Iron Man" "Stahlschrott" Smith looked more alive in Riley's memory.

"I heard about sergeant Raz." The captain said. Claude finally looked up. Then their eyes met before Riley looked away. Again.

"I cannot even begin to imagine the kind of pain hope brings about to you three. So I cannot imagine the kind of sheer will that take both of you here. With that said, I cannot overlook the fact that you acted without proper authorization and led an action against our operation. But, I won't hold that over you, captain. Neither will I hold your action against you, officer Miller. That brings us here. You both are valuable assets to us in this coming fight. But neither of you are operating at full capacity. I trust that two functioning adults will be able to communicate clearly and resolve any remaining conflicts. Can you do that, captain? And you, officer?"

The captain gave them both a smile before walking out of the room, closing the door behind them.

The silence was awkward. It stopped being awkward the moment Riley decided that her legs weren't in enough pain to stop her from walking out.

* * *

Leena came to Riley's quarter again tonight. She felt like needing someone to hold her but at the same time, she knew Riley would want her to be there. She knew they both felt exposed and vulnerable, especially after the way Captain Morgan reacted to knowing Raz might have survived. It was as if he knew everything they went through for the last couple of weeks.

"You still haven't talked to him?" Leena asked.

"What's there to talk about?" Riley spoke as if there was something stuck in her throat.

Leena couldn't respond to that. She let the air dry up in the room before coming up with something to say.

"I know it's selfish to say this, but I'll say it anyway. When I look at you, I'm afraid that that happened to me and Raz will happen to you two. It took Raz too long to finally tell me he loves me before, it happened. But, you and Claude, there's still time to make things right. Mend wounds and treasure the moments together. We're back in combat now. Things will go wrong." She said.

Riley didn't say anything.

"Even if you fell out of love with him, he's still a friend, right? He's also my friend. And I can't fight on the line if two of my best friends can't handle each other." Leena said, and almost regretted what she said when Riley looked at her with a pair of swollen eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. You're right. It just stings a bit. When we left the house, I thought that I would be the mature one so that you can depend on me when you're in grief. Now I'm that one that wants to depend on you." Riley said and tried to utter a smile. "How did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Change?"

Leena paused for a second.

"Minerva said it, we've all changed. It just takes some time for me to realize. And some more time to realize why I changed and into what. Talking certainly helps. So go talk to him, alright? Help you both."

Riley didn't say anything and laid flat on her back, trying to be playful while her eyes began to get wet.

"You sound like a real adult now, don't you?" Riley said with a chuckle and a broken voice.

"Mind you, I'm the older one here." Leena said. "Scooch over, I'll stay the night."

It felt like just nights ago when Leena was the one being patted to sleep under the same blanket.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Knowing Riley was also on the ship changed everything for Claude. As soon as he entered the bridge, he felt like he walked back in time into the same bridge of the Centurion, watching Leena clutching the radio and clinging onto Raz's every last word. No, it wasn't mere time travelling, but picture-perfect came to life. The scene gave him what he thought was missing the last time, the look of disappointment on the captain's face. And disgust on Riley's. He spaced out for the rest of the time on the bridge, until someone pushed him along into a quarter and made it clear he was a prisoner. And things went only downhill.

Claude had never been a prisoner of war. But he had taken on enough Imperial soldiers to know what that might feel like. Time. He had a lot of time on his hand. And he had nothing to kill time with, nothing but dark thoughts. Was it worth it? To go all the way across the border, traversing hundreds of miles, making pledges he couldn't keep and fighting for a banner not of Gallia, and finally ended up in a pit. Had he made the right choice? Dragging his squad along and disregarding them, as long as he got closer to Raz? What would happen if his decision killed them, like he killed Raz? Or did he care so little about them when Raz was all that was on his mind, that he didn't even bother bringing them into combat, when he was so unfit to command? He thought back on the border crossing, on the run in with the Blue Rose, who shot first, and then the skirmish against the Imperial outfit. A stray bullet would have ended any of them there. Would it have been better than this outcome, where he sat alone, mulling over what could have been?

He had lost counts of days, not that he ever cared enough to begin counting in the first place. He tried again briefly, after the captain visited him. But then the captain brought Riley along, and her cold dead stare killed any hope in him to be alive again. It felt funny sometimes, when the ship ran aground, shoving him from side to side like a defibrator trying to kickstart his life back to no avail. He thought he could count the time the ship tried to give his heart a run of the current to see how long time had passed. But in the end he gave up when his mind strayed from counting numbers to thinking about why the ship ran aground. They might have engaged in combat. Or a big accident. Either way, someone might have died.

Claude thought about counting time another way. Seeing how long since they last gave him food was an idea. Until he started recognizing the warden giving him food with a side of annoyed face or outright disgust. And then the next time a new warden showed up. And then the next one, with bandages all over his face. He almost wanted to yell back that if they didn't want to see him, they needn't bring him anything. He didn't touch the food anyway. But Claude missed the chance to say it because the next time someone came, it was an Imperial outfit, looking just as lifeless as he was. Their eyes met briefly, barely registered each other presence, before each went back to their aimless existence. A few times later since the first Imperial outfit brought him food, he started to realize the ship had not moved for a while.

Klaus was the first to come. He brought a bottle of wine and Claude downed half of it before Klaus even said anything. Alcohol. If they had brought him alcohol sooner.

"You don't look so tough now, soulmate." He said. Claude didn't say a word.

"But well, if you're out there and see us, we're not looking any better than you are. Get this, soulmate, we're sieging the X-0 base. Their main base. Huge fortress beneath the ice, with only its tip above the crevasse. We've raided a couple of their outposts before, but we've seen nothing like this. Hell, I've seen nothing like this. Maybe the Empire's Royalty has a castle or two of this size, but I'd never imagine they'd build something like this out here. We're getting beaten to a pulp here soulmate. We're stuck for days trying to siege this fortress. I've lost too many good men out there and so has the good captain. We need you. Hell, you might be the only one not wounded right now on the ship. So what say you? Join me for a fight?"

_But what if I kill them? What if I make a wrong decision? I can't foresee everything. I led us to a trap. Again and again. What if I kill her? Even if Raz live, can I save him? How many lives can I trade for his? Can Riley's suffice?_

Claude wanted to yell, but the liquor got stuck in his throat. Before he swallowed, Klaus had already left.

The next time, Vancey dropped by with her own bottle. And Zaiga's dog tag. The poor kid got wounded so badly Karen had to operate on the field before taking him back to the ship. He was in critical condition, Vancey said. Couldn't tell if he could make it, she said.

_Just like that, one life could have been taken away._

The next time, some young Imperial soldiers went inside his quarter and just sat there in silent. It would have been sobering listened to their sobbing had he paid attention to it.

_War is bad. We all know that. So why are we still here? Why did I go in the first place?_

* * *

"Mind if I join you? Sorry I didn't bring booze."

Claude recognized that voice even though he hadn't heard it once since the war ended. Leena stepped inside the room and sat down beside him, ignoring his visible flinch. He couldn't utter a word, and she wouldn't say anything. They both sat there, mulling over the silence.

"No wonder you want to stay here. It's so comfortable and quiet, you can't even hear the shelling outside." Leena said.

_Shelling?_

"We've lost too many to justify staying here. Tomorrow will be our last attempt. I'm only hoping that we have enough hands to pilot the ship home." She said, trying to ease the mood with a chuckle.

_How many have we lost?_

"Say, Claude, want to join us tomorrow? You don't have to command if you don't want to. I doubt anyone would follow anyway. But we could use a scout. Or anyone that can hold a weapon." She said.

_Who's in command then? Klaus? Captain Morgan? Does it matter? Who's left to be commanded?_

"Claude."

A beat.

"You know, when I told Riley to go on this mission, I came to term with the fact that Raz is dead."

Claude felt his head turned so fast his neck might have snapped. Leena continued.

"The point of me going wasn't to save Raz at all. In the end, if he lives, it will be a pleasant surprise. But I can't save the dead. I'm here to save the living, Claude. I can't stand to see my friends lose what I have already lost."

Claude gazed at her, fixing on the sincerity in her teary eyes.

"So, I'm here to say this. I forgive you, Claude. I've never wanted to hold you for Raz's death. And I certainly don't want you and Riley to suffer because of me. You both deserve a life together after all this bullshit we've been through. But if my approval is what you need then here you go."

Leena averted her eyes briefly before looking at him and smiled.

"Well, that's all I have to say. The operation begins at 6am sharp. Hope to see you there."

Claude stared at Leena as she walked out of the room, or so he would, had his eyes been cleared.

* * *

Riley could run as fast as anyone now despite her still-in-pain legs because everyone else were wounded enough to crawl faster than they could walk. Not that a pair of running legs could help since the enemy had artilleries fixed on their positions and had been firing nonstop since they first made contact. The ship was tucked behind a natural crevasse, safe from direct fire, but the distance between the ship to the base was good stretch of ice. After almost a week of stalemate, a siege that went nowhere, the icefield was now filled with enough craters and crevasses created by artillery fire that Riley could crawl all the way without seeing the sun once. Then there were other infantry groups that could easily outnumber them anytime despite the constant fighting. Riley had thought she landed some decent shots and dealt some damage, but at the end of the day, the enemy refilled their trenches like ants swarming a sugar jar.

She hoped that the stalemate depressed the enemy as much as they did the ship crew. Had it not for the Imperial infantry company, they couldn't have advanced as far as they did. They were the bulk of the advance force, throwing bodies at the impenetrable fortress that showed only an entrance above the ice. Klaus was a proudful commander, maintaining his men's morale in the face of insurmountable odds. The Navy, on the other hand, relied on not only captain Morgan, but Riley and Leena and all the squad leaders to keep morale sufficiently high. Morale wasn't the only problem. They began to run low on ammunitions and supply, even dipped into necessities and fuel for the trip back, that was if there would be a return trip at all. It would be frustrating to quit at the finishing line, but Riley had to agree with the captain's decision. Dying at the line wouldn't make a difference.

Sitting in her trench overlooking the battlefield, Riley couldn't help but wonder how tomorrow would go. She couldn't tell what she wanted at this point, to go home or to destroy this base just because it had been an obstacle in front of her. Maybe she'd die tomorrow. If that was that, she'd hope it'd be fast.

Came morning. The operation started with the first shot from Klaus' tank. And the shouting of the Imperial infantries charging at each other, followed by artillery fire coming from both sides. Riley hung back and coordinated the Federation's supporting fire, while Leena and Vancey led the ground troops supporting the Imperial advance. The fighting barely lasted twenty minutes when the first Imperial soldier turned back and ran for the ship. When Klaus's tank retreated, Riley knew it was over.

"Riley, this is Kai. We're being pushed back. The enemy is advancing. Adjust fire, over."

"Advancing?"

"Seems they want to finish it. Enemy APCs moving behind us with twenty, no, thirty infantries advancing, danger close."

"Get to cover. Sending shots."

Riley shouted the command to her grenadiers as her mind raced through the possibilities. They had never advanced once in the last week of fighting. Riley turned and looked at the advancing enemy, for once thinking that she was looking at a pack of wolves smelling fear from its prey. The retreating Imperial soldiers began to get mowed down by machine guns. Then Leena's squad got into Riley's line of sight, also pinned down and unable to move. Finally, enemy armors got into range, so close that Riley could practically stare at their muzzles pointing at her.

"Look out."

Riley felt someone jumped on her from behind, rolling with her down into a crater, before she heard a loud explosion landed where she just stood. By the time she came to, she realized Claude was on the other side of the crater, looking at her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry it took me so long to finally talk to you. I was wrong. I love you." He said.

"Now's not the time, Claude!"

"Right. Give me the radio." He snatched it from her hand before she even reacted or came out of the shock. "This is Claude to all friendly callsigns. Captain Morgan has authorized me to command. All friendly callsigns pull back to phase line Charlie and hold your position. The enemy is advancing with the intent to destroy us. If you retreat, they will kill you. Hold the line. Klaus, keep your men in order and organize a defense. Target the enemy armor. Kai, I need your shock troopers. Rally them on me at the ship."

Riley stared at Claude in awe, even failed to catch the radio Claude threw back at her, and failed again to react when he came in for a hug.

"Claude?"

"Yes, not the time. I have a plan. But I still need to tell you that I love you and I'm sorry for leaving you behind. I'm always afraid that I do not deserve you, especially after what happened to Raz. I couldn't even look at Leena in her eyes."

"Claude!"

"But I love you. And I promise I'll get us through this together. We need to organize a spearhead. There's an APC on the icebreaker and enough explosive to make a hole on the ice and flood the fortress below. Riley, I need you cover the APC. Don't aim for the enemy in the craters. Aim for the ground to kick up snow or create more craters to cover us. I'll head back to the ship and prepare the squad. I'll give the signal when we start."

"We?"

"I'll go with the APC. I have to make sure where to plant the explosives. I'll survive." He said.

She locked eyes with him. It felt refreshing, as if the Claude in front of her now had always been the Claude she knew, not the one who left her behind. And so she trusted him to run off, while she herself got back with her grenadiers. This was the Claude who she promised to follow.

"You heard the captain! Back to your post!"

* * *

Claude almost wished he could know if he had said enough to Riley as he hopped onto the APC, a modified Imperial truck. As he briefed Vancey and other troopers, his mind went through, in slow motion, his brief contact with Riley on the field. How they touched. How her warmth reached him through the layers of outfits. How he uttered the words he should have said a thousand times, while explosion and bullets flew over their head like a blizzard. He didn't know what he expected, something between a romantic rendezvous worthy of a month of not seeing each other and a literal battlefield. But he cleared his head as he stepped onto the APC.

There were so many things that went through his mind during that daredevil rush through the snow field. As he shouted commands and called targets for his squad, he thought about his actions, his act as commander during the war, and as squad leader during this month-long adventure. There were a lot of things that seemed so trivial looking back, compared to this moment when he was obviously on a suicide mission. But his mind wouldn't accept that. Somehow, he kept thinking this was just another border crossing. Just like that night, he was running into a wall, about to blow it to oblivion.

But it was unlike that night where he was among friends and friendlies. When he stepped down onto the ground, sinking his boots into the snow, he was reminded again that this was a battlefield. Bullets flew around him so much so he actually felt warm in the midst of cold air. It didn't matter much at this point though. He surveyed the fortress wall, stayed clear of the bunkers where artillery muzzles peaked out, while trying to locate a weak point where an explosion could deal the anticipated damage. He spent the sleepless night coming up with this plan. It had to work. Even if he had to pay for his life. Even if the suicide squad was getting thinned out by the seconds.

Then he found it, a creak on the ice between the massive gate and a bunker. He laid down the Ragnite charge, wired the satchel and blew it before he called out to his squad to take cover. The impact of of the explosion flung him a distance away, throwing him into a crater and knocking him out of consciousness. But not after he heard a familiar voice.

"Yo. Told you I'm invincible."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

His body still ached, but Raz felt like he was floating above the sky, sinking into the soft-looking, comfy cloud. Every fiber of his flesh meshed with the fluffy surrounding. Was he in a dream? He was sure the last time he opened his eyes to check, the Imps were ravishing him, caning and whipping and running him through tests after tests. This comfortable feeling, warm and cozy even, surely it couldn't be true. But Raz woke up anyway. Something was pressing on his arm. It started to pain him. If those Imps dared touch him again, he'd smack their head so hard their bodies'd fly out of this dungeon.

Raz opened his eyes, slowly. The white surrounding was unfamiliar. Maybe he had given up. He had died and this was his heaven. But no, he heard ragnite humming sound. And the soft feeling remained, unlike the coarse and itches followed every whipping. But the heavy feeling was also there. He groaned a little and tried to stay awake. The heavy feeling felt like an anchor keeping him down on the bed. Bed? He was in a dungeon cell with a cold floor, puddles of ice, and dripping water. No, he was clearly on a bed. A hospital perhaps, with nurses walking by beds with other wounded. And a familiar voice. And familiar faces. He thought he saw Karen coming over to his bed.

"Morning, Sergeant Raz. How are you feeling?" She said.

He opened his mouth but only muttered. His tongue felt dried and the entire lips felt frozen solid.

"It's okay. You're probably still in shock. If you're in pain, blink twice."

"My right hand. It's not hurt but it feels weird." He uttered.

"Well, I think you can deal with that yourself." Karen smiled. "I'll come around to check with you later. It's good to have you back, Sergeant."

Raz looked at Karen until she got out of his field of vision. What did she mean by that? It hurt to even turn his neck around and see his right hand. But he did anyway. And then he gasped.

Leena was resting her head on his hand. Even with all this noise, she was sleeping so soundly like an angel in the sky. Raz probably couldn't do it, but he knew he was smiling.

* * *

Claude looked at the empty field from the bow of the icebreaker. Yesterday, there were enough columns of smoke to make the Crystal Sea the same as any battlefield on the continent. It made him think about how scary nature could recover. Yesterday, he could see the frozen sea beneath the ice layers. He thought he touched the seawater at some point, when he was flung across craters and made himself a drill against the ice. Now, all he could see was the same white he had seen every day. Well, that and all the red of blood and Imperial uniforms, and the blue of the Federation.

"Mind if I join?"

"Raz? How are you walking around already?"

"I saved your ass yesterday. I don't need no rest." Raz said with a big grin.

"Leena?"

"Sleeping. She sustained some wounds. Minor, but they bleed. She needs to rest so figure I give her space."

Claude nodded and fell back into silence. Raz lived. He guessed the realization hadn't settled in for him.

"You're one crazy bastard, you know that? Never know I'll live to see a day Scaredy Claude comes all the way for me. How'd ya pull that off?" Raz said.

"Winds of favor, I guess. Care for a smoke?" Claude said, tipping a cigarette pack over to Raz.

"Since when do you smoke?" Raz laughed but took the offer.

How did he pull that off, Claude wondered to himself. It had been a journey, crossing the border, skirmishing against Klaus's unit, rejoining the Federation, sitting on his ass while the Federation joining Klaus against the X-0. He opened his mouth, wanting to recount the story, but then shut himself. Did he really think about Raz all this time? After each X-0 outposts, wiping their armories and freeing prisoners, did he really think about asking for anyone to see if Raz was in the crowd. He looked at Raz and Raz seemed to understand what weighed on his mind.

"You know what'd be good? The Suisae Bar in Hafen. You'll buy me a round and one more for everyone in the bar, okay? Make up for your sorry ass taking a long time to come pick me up." Raz said.

"Yeah, yeah that sounds good. I can't wait to get off this Crystal Sea. I've seen enough of it for a lifetime."

"And I'll ask Leena to move in with me. And we'll have lots of kids. And if you ask nicely, I'll let them work for you in your Miller Company. How does that sound?"

"My Miller Company?"

"Yeah, ain't that be the plan? Oh don't tell me after all this time you've not done a thing for her?"

"Shut up Raz."

He'd shove Raz by the shoulder like the old times if he could, without all this pain running through his body.

* * *

_Some months later_

After the fortress fell, there was no more X-0, at least there was no more intelligence indicated otherwise. But that wasn't the end of the operation. Before they made the returns, arguments broke out between the Imperials and the Federation troops over even the most trivial things. As if without a common goal, there was nothing to keep the peace between them anymore. But thankfully, there was no fighting. Captain Morgan agreed to give the Imperials all functioning vehicles so that they could make their return trip to mainland. In exchange, Klaus agreed to surrender all surviving documentation, especially scientific reports gained from experiments by the X-0. The captain and the lieutenant colonel fought long and hard over whether to destroy the documentation of X-0 personnel and structure, but in the end, Riley didn't care about that. All she cared about was going home, and so did everyone else.

The return voyage wasn't more peaceful than anyone had expected. The ship took on more people than it had expected, Federation prisoners from the X-0 outposts, neutral citizens captured and tested by the X-0, and Imperial defectors. Taking them on was a matter of course, everyone voted for that, until they realized food supply was running low and not enough fuel to keep both the ship and the heaters running. People clumped together around the heaters in every corner and common hall, abandon private quarters for the sake of warmth. In the end, it only made people wishing for the trip to be over.

But when the ship touched Edinburgh, there were even more things that blew up. Since it was a covert operation, Edinburgh almost turned the ship away when the Captain disobeyed their direct order to abandon the prisoners. Unlisted personnel, they said. Even Claude would be left to be stranded at sea since he was not registered as personnel on the ship. Riley wouldn't care. She had looked away from the fact that X-0 experimented on human, and even now Edinburgh and Vinland joined hand to continue that. She had grown tired of the fighting and she couldn't fight anymore, even for the sake of Angie who she now dearly missed.

But when they stripped Claude of his military record and dishonorably discharged him, it flipped Riley off. She didn't know why but it felt unfair to Claude and to herself. She even called Minerva to his defense to no avail.

"But hey, at least they didn't put a threat on your name and blacklisted both of you, right?" Raz said. "And come on, cheer up. It's the Starlight Festival! Why get hung up on such trivial matter?"

"He's right, Riley. Come, scooch over, here comes the beer." Leena said.

They were sitting in the corner of the town square, overlooking the dancing and the music, seeing the children playing and shouting and preparing for the final activity. Riley nodded and tried to cheer up. At the end, both Raz and Leena were blacklisted by the Federation as punishment for their actions. Raz, for being the inconvenient existence proving that human experiment existed. Leena, because they suspected the sister of a traitor was trying to plan something by taking part in a covert operation. Despite Captain Morgan's vouch, the command wouldn't listen otherwise. So Leena and Raz had a choice, to move to Vinland under the auspices and surveillance of the government. Or, their choice, to go into hiding. It pained Riley to think she would soon miss her two friends as soon as she just met them again.

"Is Angie running today?" Raz asked.

"I think so. She was so excited yesterday, even asked me for advice." Claude said.

"She asked you? But you've never got any medal." Raz said.

"Well, I could still giver her advice on not what to do, okay?" Claude said.

Riley smiled along with Leena but couldn't help and feel down again. Having awoken the Valkyrie potential, Angie was on the blacklist, too. Today would be the last festival she could ever attend. Tomorrow, Riley would never hear again about those three people. She noticed Claude looking at her with sympathetic eyes.

"Well, how about this? Let's go for a run before the children do. For old time's sake." Claude said.

"Ah, to get that revenge isn't it? I'll give you a head start."

"Said someone who has only slept and drank ever since he's got home. I'll ring the bell before you do, Raz." Leena said, and the two of them leaped into the race. Riley couldn't hold back her grin and began to stand up. But Claude held her hand. Surprised, she looked at him.

"Riley." He said.

"Yes?"

"I know there are still a lot I can do to make up for all the things I've done these past few months. But I want you to know that despite everything, you're the one that keeps me going. You're the one that motivates my every action."

"Claude?"

"I realize I couldn't have made it without you. And I don't think I'll ever be able to live without you. Will you marry me?"

Riley almost didn't believe her ears. But before thought returned to her, she nodded. Her face felt hot and her eyes wet. And then she felt Claude's leaping at her, embracing her with all of his body. By the time she came to, he was already kneeling to put a ring on her finger.

* * *

**Author's Note: This is it! Thank you for reading and following. **

**This is my first completed project and my first published work so you can tell there's a lot I could improve. It has been a learning experience and your readership has encouraged me to keep going. So again, thank you very much! And feel free to leave a review on how the story could have improved. I'll take note for my future writing.**


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